Broom.



No. 655,369. Patented Aug. 7, I900. W. 6. PRICE.

BROOM.

(Application filed Feb. 24, 1900.)

(No Model.)

' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM CARLISLE PRICE, OF BLACKFOOT, IDAHO.

BROOM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 655,369, dated August 7, 1900.

Application filed February 24, 1900. Serial No. 6.371. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM CARLISLE PRICE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Blackfoot, in the county of Bingham and State of Idaho, have invented a new and useful Broom, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in brooms.

One object of the present invention is to improve the construction of brooms and to provide a simple, inexpensive, and efficient one adapted to readily remove dust without wearing a carpet and capable of being readily renewed when the brush or broom material has become worn.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of this character having the general configuration of an ordinary broom and possessing the resiliency of a straw broom, whereby a brush may be operated as advantageously in sweeping as a broom.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of a convertible broom and mop constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of another form of the invention. Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional 'view of the same.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

1 designates a convertible broom and mop provided with a clamp 2, adapted to receive bristles 3 or a 'mop cloth and connected with a handle at by central and side springs 5 and 6. The handle is similar to an ordinary broom-handle, and the device, which presents the appearance or configuration of an ordinary broom, has the resiliency of a straw broom, owing to the spring connections between the clamp and the handle, and the brush may be'used in the same manner as an ordinary straw broom and with the same facility. The clamp 2, which is constructed of sheet metal or other suitable material, is inverted- U -shaped in cross-section, being composed of two sides connected by adjusting de vices 7, which may consist of bolts and .nuts, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings, but which may be of any other desired construction. The bristles 3, which are clamped between the sides of the clamp, are readily removable and may be cheaply and conveniently replaced when worn, and they are also adapted to be removed to permit a mop-cloth to be substituted for them, and a strip of rubber may also be placed in the clamp to form a squeegee for sweeping water from a floor or other surface, so that the same will rapidly dry. The springs, which are arranged in pairs, have their lower ends 8 and 9 riveted or otherwise secured to the outer faces of the sides of the same, The central springs 5 extend vertically from the clamp to the handle 4: and the side springs 6 are extended inward and upward to form arms 10, which are arranged at opposite sides of the handle. The upper terminals of the springs are secured to the handle by a Wire 11, which is wrapped around them,as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, but any other suitable means may be employed for connecting the'springs to the lower end of the handle. The central and side springs are connected at a point between the handle and the clamp by a horizontal strip 12, arranged between the pair of springs and riveted or otherwise secured to the same. Thisstrip 12, which is constructed of resilient material, does not impair the resiliency of the device.

' In Figs. 3 and t of the accompanying drawings is illustrated another modification of the invention, wherein bristles 17 are connected by a series of flat springs 18 with a head 19 of a broom-handle 20, and the said bristles are received within a clamp 2 constructed similar to that heretofore described in connection with Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings. The lower end of the handle is fitted in a suitable socket 21 of the head 19, and the latter is provided at its bottom with a kerf or slot 22 for the reception of the upper ends of the springs 18. The lower ends 18 of the springs are split and forked to straddle the clamp 2, and they are riveted or otherwise securedto the outer faces of the sides of the same. The head 19 is approximately segmental and the side springs diverge downwardly to conform to the configuration of an ordinary broom, and by employing single flat springs 18 the device is rendered highly resilient. Instead of employing bristles'in the manufacture of the brushes wire may be used to provide a scrubbing-broom.

It will be apparent that the device is exceedingly simple and inexpensive in construction, that the brush may be readily renewed when worn, and that the springs impart a resiliency to it, which will enable it to be employed for sweeping with the same facility as an ordinary straw broom. It will also be apparent that in the form of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 the brush maybe removed and that a mop-cloth or a strip of rubber or other material may be placed in the clamp to convert the broom into a mop or squeegee.

Changes in the form, proportion, size, and the minor details of construction within the scope of the appended claims may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

What is claimed is- 1. A device of the class described comprising a clamp, a handle, a series of springs connecting the clamp and the handle and having their lower ends straddling the clamp, and a horizontal spring connecting the said springs, substantially as described.

2. A device of the class described comprising a clamp, a handle, central and side springs arranged in pairs and connecting the handle and the clamp, and a horizontal spring interposed between the central and side springs and connecting the same, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto afiixed my signature in the presence oftwo witnesses.

WILLIAM OARLISLE PRICE.

Witnesses:

GREGORY J ONES, JOHN MONTGOMERY. 

